“Skepticism is the beginning of Faith”
- OSCAR WILDE
Religion… easy to say, extremely difficult to comprehend. A system of faith and worship to say the least. Yup, quite absurd but surely keeps us going. Some say we adopt a religion and then there is a school of thought which says that we are rather born in a religion. So if we are born in a religion our parents and their parents have followed for years, from where does the thought of conversion arises. ?
“Conversion”… again a very complex issue to handle. The phenomenon is not new. From conversions of dalits into Christianity in 1900’s to Cassious Clay’s conversion into Mohammad Ali in 60’s to embracement of Mystical Sufism by our very own Dilip Shekhar (better known as A.R. Rehman), it has now existed for many years around us. But the question “Why do people covert to some other faith after having born and spent formative years in a certain sect”? remains unanswered. Is it the quest for actualization or is it a way to protest against the religion one is born in? While the former marks the evolution of man’s spiritual inclinations, the latter is a mark of dissent for disgusting social systems and ordinances that accompany religious beliefs. Both have antonymous connotations attached to it. In former case, it might be a decision well pondered over, in latter case, it could be a sign of remonstration. Every time someone converts, it might not necessarily a conversion from one faith to another. Look closely, it could very well be a conversion from a Believer to a Non- believer. A non-believer of the faith that must have promised a lot during the formative years of a one's life but failed to deliver as one grows up into an adult.
A religious system most of the time is well entangled with a social system. The way of life as they say. For some, this adoption of way of life might be easy, for others it doesn’t turn out to be good enough. The ultimate way to protest is the renunciation of that faith. However, as we have been taught to believe, faith is quintessential for existence of mankind. So one looks for other schools of thought that might reinforce the detestation for one’s indigenous religion. This turns out to be a choice good enough for adoption. And then takes place “THE CONVERSION”. Though I must admit that it is a very strong perspective to take but it surely has its roots into collective understanding of the issue of conversion. It might be an amateur attempt to handle a multifarious issue like this but I guess it’s worth enough to be food for thought for many of us. So next time when I hear about someone embracing about a particular faith , I am surely going to look for reasons beyond obvious.
that's wat i said abt choices.. but neways.. awesomely written... brilliantly done... (falling short of words...) :P
ReplyDeletea little heavy for me but liked it.... waiting for more thoughts... keep it going...
Awesome stuff…
ReplyDeleteAn inquiry into motivations for human actions (like conversion) is a subject that has to be dealt with sensitivity and intelligence. More so because in matters of human psychology; the observer himself becomes a part of the experimental setup. That is to say, one has to look within to see outside; the observer is also the observed. This move to the process of introspection as opposed to the generally prevalent empiricism of pure sciences is not an exercise for just anyone but those who possess a special clarity of thought. In this sense, this small piece on the issue of “Conversion”, although cursory in nature, sparkles with the honesty of introspective effort.
I would like you to explore the subject of conversion of a "believer" to an Atheist in greater detail. It seems to me that in converting to Atheism; a person not only rejects a substantial part of his own belief system but also the possibility of “truth” in several others that he has not yet encountered…that is to say, religions that have not “promised” him anything.
In fact, anyone interested in exploring the ultimate nature of reality is wont to question the “truth” in his existing religious beliefs. Quite a few religious traditions of the world counter this “threat” by labeling skepticism as blasphemous or sacrilegious. When such ideas (like skepticism being sacriligeous) are ingrained in an individual from childhood, they are internalized in the individual’s super-ego construct, and thus his process of introspection is halted (or maybe just repressed) at an initial stage, not however without repercussions like anxiety. In my opinion, religious beliefs in order to be empowering have to evolve from the process of Cartesian doubt, or skepticism. Or maybe I’m just paraphrasing Wilde here ;)
coool!!!...
ReplyDeletealways suspected you to be the thinking type... never knew u wrote well too....
great stuff... keep it rolling... ;)
and i totally agree with Befuddling here...whatever he/she means :P